DAKAR-AGADEZ-DAKAR 1997
 
Dakar organizer Hubert Auriol, who successfully mounted the 1996 Granada-Dakar Rally, took a completely different approach to the 1997 event. The decision was made to alter the current regulations and ban the T3 prototype classall to gether from this year's event. The previous years have seen the performance of these powerful machines, sometimes called the "F1's of the desert" dominate the event. Auriol's intention was to give competitors, both professional and amateur an equal chance at winning the Dakar.
Mitsubishi entered the event with three Pajeros and debuted its new Challenger/Montro Sport, all in the T2 category (improved production cars). This year 100 vehicles, 127 motorcycles and 55 trucks made their start from Dakar. The 16 day-event took the competitors through the scorching heat of four African countries; Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, and Niger. For the first time in its 19 year history the 1997 event took place entirely in Africa, the 1997 Dakar-Agades-Dakar Rally made its start from Dakar in Senegal and made its way east to Agades in Niger and returned to Dakar, an exhausting 8,000 km rally through some of the roughest terrain the Africa continent could offer.
The Mitsubishi team took the lead from the start and once they reached the halfway point in Agades in Niger, after more than 3500km competitive driving, only a handful of seconds split the leading three Pajeros. The going was tough for Mitsubishi with not only rivals Jean-Louis Schlesser and Juha Kleinschmidt's SEAT-powered buggies close behind but pressure from Nissan, Toyota and Korea's Sangyong also threatening to take over the lead. By the time they reached Nema in Mauritania, scene of the toughest stages of the event, Team Manager Ullrich Brehmer was forced to make the decision to declare that the leading Pajeros at that point was to be unchallenged to the finish.
On Sunday, January 19th, 1997, after 15 days and more than 8,000 km of the world's most gruelling motor sport event, Kenjiro Shinozuka blasted along the sandy beach near the Senegalese capital of Dakar and around the famous Pink Lake to yet make another mark in the history books by becoming the first Japanese driver ever to win the famous Dakar Rally, driving his Team Mitsubishi Oil Ralliart Pajero. In the searing heat of Senegal, many thousands of spectators gathered to cheer the Japanese hero onto the podium alongside his French co-driver Henri Magne. It was a memorable occasion for Mitsubishi whose cars filled the top four postions overall, and won almost all major classes and categories of the event. The result was certainly worthy


 

FINAL CLASSIFICATION

1997 Dakar-Agades-Dakar Rally

Pos. Car No. Driver Manufacture Total Time
1. 205 SHINOZUKA MITSUBISHI PAJERO 61:58:31
2. 200 FONTENAY MITSUBISHI PAJERO +00:04:16
3. 202 SABY MITSUBISHI PAJERO +00:09:12
4. 220 MASUOKA MITSUBISHI CHALLENGER/MONTERO SPORT +02:25:27
5. 206 KLEINSCHMIDT SCHLESSER ORIG +04:35:51
6. 204 SERVIA NISSAN +05:15:14
7. 216 STRUGO MITSUBISHI PAJERO +06:20:08
8. 208 GUEDES NISSAN +09:23:13
9. 268 ARGAZZI NISSAN +09:40:41
10. 224 SOUZA MITSUBISHI PAJERO +10:14:58
 
 
N° 161
Pilote
Andrew Cowan
GB
Classée 11
au général
Classée 1
en Marathon
Co-Pilote
Colin Malkin
GB
N° 162
Pilote
Georges Debussy
FR
Classée 14
au général
Classée 2
en Marathon
Co-Pilote
Jacques Delaval
FR
N° 217
Pilote
Tony Fowke
GB
Abandon
Abandon
Co-Pilote
Pierre Saint-Jean
FR
N° 218
Pilote
Bernard Maingret
FR
Classée 30
au général
Classée 5
en Marathon
Co-Pilote
Louis Blin
FR
 
 
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